5 points for two Harry Potter articles

1. “Young Christian minds will ‘lose the spirit of discernment between good and evil and that they will not have the necessary strength and knowledge to withstand the temptations to evil,’ Ratzinger wrote…” – I picked this line for two reasons. First, it is an emotional persuation to the readers that young Christians are at risk when reading the Harry Potter series. Many people do not agree with that statement and think Harry Potter is perfectly fine for young people to read. Second, the quote in the middle of the statement was by Ratzinger. Who exactly is this Ratzinger? Can he be trusted? Ratzinger is a Cardnial in the Catholic Church and is someone who can be trusted – he is a credible source. (Pathos)

2. “…headlining an article by an expert in English literature who calls the teen wizard “the wrong kind of hero”. – This “expert” in English literature is stating their emotional opinion on Potter in the books, calling Harry “the wrong kind of hero”. Some other people may not agree with this statement. (Pathos)

3. “…Edoardo Rialti writes about the harmful effects of the “half-truth” messages presented by JK Rowling in the Potter saga.” – I believe that this statement is factual and emotional. Rialti states his emotional opinion on the half-truth messages in the series, but it is a fact that the Harry Potter series displays half-truth messages to people. For example, the wizards in the school can use major to lift things up from their desk; this cannot happen in real life but a student can pick something off their desk if they wanted it to be moved – magic is not real.

4. “… Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who voiced fears in 2003 that the “subtle seductions” contained in the Potter series could “corrupt the Christian faith” in impressionable young children.” – this is an emotional appeal stating a view point that the series could corrupt the Christian minds of young children. Ratzinger is trying to protect the minds of the young children who want to read these books. (Pathos)

5. “In Rowling’s stories ‘we are told that, at the end, some things are not bad in themselves, if used for a good purpose: violence becomes good, if in the right hands and [used by] the right people, and maybe in the right dose.’ ” – this is factual information because it is describing the purpose for everything at the end of the book.

The second article was “Harry Potter and the incredible positive review from the official Vatican paper”

1.”The Catholic Church has heaped praise on the latest ‘Harry Potter’ film after previously accusing the books of promoting witchcraft and the occult”. – this is factual information because it expresses how the Catholic Church felt after watching the latest Harry Potter movie and changing their minds after accusations. Since the Catholic Church “approved” the movies, to some people it may seem that the movies are okay now because the Catholic Church approved them.

2. “The paper also praised the film’s clear message that ‘the search for immortality epitomised by Lord Voldemort ‘was wrong”. – this is factual and credible information because it is stating that the movies have a clear message that the search for immortality epitomised by Lord Voldemort was wrong. The movies have a clear definition of what is right and what is wrong.

3. “The Vatican’s official newspaper lauded ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ for its “clear” depiction of the eternal battle between good and evil represented by the struggle between Harry and his nemesis, evil sorcerer Lord Voldemort”. – this is a fact because it’s saying that there is a clear line drawn between good (Harry) and evil (Lord Voldemort) and is easy to pick up so people and young children do not get confused between the two.

4. “It even approved of the film’s treatment of adolescent romance amid the halls and corridors of Hogwart’s, saying that it achieved the “correct balance” and made the teenage stars more credible.” – this is stating that there is now a correct balance in the movies and they are now agreeing with the movie.

5. ” ‘L’Osservatore Romano’ said the movie was the best adaptation yet of the JK Rowling books, describing it as ‘a mixture of supernatural suspense and romance which reaches the right balance’. ” – ‘L’Osservatore Romano’ is the Vaticans official newspaper – can this source be trusted with its opinion on the right balance for the romance? Sometimes it is hard to decide what is a reliable source and what isn’t.